Mass Effect: Story of the Mercenary
by Raidster
Summary: He is William Santos. Once allied with the 10th Street Reds, helped Shepard at Elysium. Now he s on a mission to save the entire galaxy.
1. Chapter 1

Identification

William Santos

Born: 2156

-Member of 10th Street Reds from 2167 to 2171; became a valued member due to his tactical expertise; learned how to hack systems and assemble weapons and aromor from an older member, Warren.

-Did mercenary work for 5 years.

-Helped John Shepard in fending off batarian pirates at Elysium in 2176. Went off the grid after that.

Armed with custom weapons, armor and other equipment to help in battle.

Known weapons:

Assault Rifle: Nightfall

Shotgun: Brimstone

Sniper Rifle: Swordfish

SMG: Assassin

Armors:

Skullwork

Ghost

CIS Equipment:

Combat Drone

Sentry Turret

Tech Armor

Damping Mine

Sabotage Mine

Overload Mine

Sonic Mine

Shuriken Grenades (Gas, Cryo, Electric, Explosive, Pyro, Flashbang, EMP)


	2. Citadel Stroll

_Author´s notes: Okay, sorry for the mess in the previous chapter. Anyway, I´ll give you the explanation you didn´t get last chapter._

_Despite the looks, William is a multi-classed guy, but yes, at the beginning he starts with tech skills._

**_Also, you must know this: this is NOT a Shep/Miri pairing._**

_And expect him to mention one story or another about his merc work, like Zaeed._

_I don´t own either Mass Effect or its characters. BioWare does. The only things I own are the OC´s._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Citadel Stroll<p>

**Citadel, Zakera Ward**

I loved pacing around the Citadel. It was technically one big city, and I always felt better around those. However, I didn´t come here to merely walk around. I _never_ came here to walk around. I only came here to get myself informed on the latest news, to find out where my skills could be needed. I was like a Krogan: always appreciated a great fight, and I _always_ wanted more.

However, I can´t say I had any good fights. And probably because the mercenaries were a complete bunch of rookies. Ever since I ``disappeared´´, I´ve been bringing destruction to many mercenary operations, like when a group of Blue Suns raided an ExoGeni facility somewhere in Janeesh´s surface. They shouldn´t have converged on my location, because at least some of the mercs would have lived. As I said, a complete bunch of rookies.

That´s when I hear the sound of gunfire on the opposite side of the door next to me. I grabbed my Assassin SMG, preparing its blade, inhaled deeply, and then I charged in.

_Let´s see what´s happening with all that gunfire._

**Citadel, Presidium, 5 hours earlier**

"By the way, have you heard the news?" I rose an eyebrow to the bartender´s question and answered, "I never pay attention to the news. Never did since my first travel to Elysium. Why?"

The bartender seemed surprised, but answered quickly. "They say Eden Prime has been attacked. No one knows why, but there have been rumors about the Geth being responsible for the attack."

I struggled not to spit the drink. Nevertheless, the bartender kept talking. " I think it´s a pile of bullshit. If the Geth never came out of the Perseus Veil in 300 years, why would they come now?"

I laughed at the bartender´s question. Really, how could someone be so dumb? "First of all," I replied, "The Perseus Veil is _opaque_. You know what _opaque_ means, don´t you? Second, if the rumors are true, then the Geth are not dumb. They must have took advantage of the fact that the Veil is opaque to build an army, then build ships with a cloaking device. And of course, add the fact that they could have spent the last _300 years_ planning a full-scale attack, and then Eden Prime could be merely the beginning. Of course, I can be wrong."

The bartender was undoubtedly surprised at this. "Wow." was all he could say.

"Well, I´ve got a tactical eye. I´ve been in many firefights. Of course, I can analyze the terrain, figure out which is the best path, the best place to take on your enemy and kill him in seconds. And in every firefight I´ve been on, my comrades always won, mostly because of me. Which generally means that in cases like this, I tend to speculate about enemy strategies." I simply replied.

To answer my statement, the bartender simply smiled and said "You might be a little cocky."

"I don´t care if I´m cocky, at least I get the job done." Was my only reply.

**Citadel, Zakera Ward, Present time**

As soon as the door opened, I was immediately met by the sight of two Salarians and a Turian engaged in a firefight with six or seven opponents. I quickly cloaked, went to cover and took my time to analyze the larger force.

_One of them is a N7, so he´s probably Alliance. Two other humans as well, along with a Turian. C-Sec, from the look of his armor, and a Krogan. Could be Blood Pack, but he doesn´t have the skull painted in the armor, so he´s just one bounty hunter. There´s also a Quarian, but she isn´t fighting. She must be involved in something important, that´s for sure. Maybe the Saren incident. If that´s true, then the N7 and the C-Sec officer are Shepard and Vakarian._

I came out of cover and sprinted towards the nearest Salarian, preparing the Assassin´s blade.

Last thing he ever felt.

As the blade sank deeper into the Salarian´s almost lifeless body, my Skullwork armor instantly decloaked. And if the Salarian´s pained scream already diverted everyone´s attention to him, then my decloaking form already shocked the smaller force, which gave me enough time to quickly impale the second Salarian and Sabotage the Turian´s Assault Rifle. However, the Turian recovered from his shock quickly, and attemted to punch me, but I quickly evaded his punch and elbowed him in the back, causing him to scream in pain. I took advantage of that moment and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him against the nearest wall. Then, I grabbed my Assassin and pointed its blade at the Turian. He was visibly fearing for his life.

**Citadel, C-Sec Academy, 30 minutes earlier**

After my `trip´ through the equipment at the Emporium, I decided to head to the C-Sec Academy. I didn´t need to walk too much to see a familiar face.

"Lawrence!" I shouted. Lawrence turned his head.

"Santos! Been wondering when you´d show up!" He replied happily. "How are your missions?"

"It looks like even the Blue Suns have become a bunch of rookies" Came my reply. "But anyway, let´s get to the point. Have you got any news?"

"Sure" Lawrence replied. One of the first friends I´ve made, Lawrence always filled me in on whatever happened within C-Sec. He is a valuable source of information, but most importantly, one of my best friends in this galaxy. "Actually, I think you´re going to love this." With this statement, I dedicated all of my attention to what he was about to say.

"You know about Eden Prime, don´t you?" I nodded. "Well, then you might have heard about those rumors about the Geth. Turns out, they were true."

"I knew it."

"But Commander Shepard, who went there to investigate the attack, discovered that a Turian Spectre, named Saren, has gone rogue -"

"-and helped the Geth. Huh." I replied. I wasn´t surprised about the rogue Spectre news. After all, the possibility existed.

"Yeah. Of course, the Council did not accept immediatly that one of their Spectres went rogue, so C-Sec started investigating Saren. The officer placed in charge of the investigation was Detective Vakarian. Unfortunately, since Saren´s a Spectre, everything he does is classified. And since Shepard´s meeting with the Council already happened, the investigation got shut down. However, Vakarian never was the kind of guy to obey the rules."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that he always disobeys the rules, if it means bringing a criminal to justice. Of course, Executor Pallin doesn´t like him very much."

I chuckled. "Can´t say I blame C-Sec for imposing those rules. After all, civilians could die. But still, a rogue Spectre is trouble. So where is he? I might be able to help him."

"Last I heard, he went with Shepard. He also wanted to prove Saren is the culprit for the attack."

"Very well. Thanks for the information, Lawrence."

"No need to thank me."

**Citadel, Zakera Ward, Present time**

"I have two questions for you: Who the hell are you, and why, if I´m correct, did you attack the Quarian?" I asked to the Turian I pinned to the wall.

"V-Vetar. Vetar Gladian." Answered the Turian, who apparently decided that it would be better to tell the whole truth than hide it from me.

"Well then, Vetar," I said, "I´m going to assume that you and your dead friends attacked that Quarian. If I´m correct, why did you attack her?"

"F-F-Fist said w-w-w-we needed to find the Quarian, because sh-sh-she had e-e-e-e-evidence that p-p-proves that Saren w-w-w-w-w-went rogue." Vetar replied.

_At least you said the truth, sick bastard!_

"He t-t-t-threatened to send us t-t-to Saren i-i-i-if we f-f-f-failed to bring back the evidence!" he screamed, pure terror evident in his voice.

"Fist is dead. I made sure of that." spoke the Krogan. He had a really deep voice and four long scars, each of them running through his red plate to his skin. Practically, he´s the kind of Krogan nobody wanted to mess with.

"Hm. You heard him, Vetar? That usually means you can go free without worries." I mockingly said to Vetar.

"Really?" he asked appearing relieved.

"Yep. So, I´m _ordering you_ to get the fuck out before this blade meets your face!"

"Okay, okay, I will!"

I let go of Vetar, allowing him to go free. After that, Shepard asked the Quarian, "Were you injured during the fight?"

_Definitely the Shepard I helped back at Elysium. The voice is perfectly the same._

"I know how to look after myself. Not that I don´t appreciate the help." Came the Quarian´s reply. "Who are you?"

"My name´s Shepard. I´m looking for evidence to prove Saren´s a traitor." He replied.

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe."

Vakarian spoke next. "We could take her to the human embassy. Your ambassador will want to see this anyway."

"Very well." The Quarian accepted. Then she turned to me and asked, "And you are... ?"

"First we present that evidence to the Council." I said.

* * *

><p>Shepard was impressed by the man´s attitude and abilities. First, one of the Salarians started screaming, attracting everyone´s attention. And that´s when he appeared. The other two were shocked at the sneak attack, which allowed the man to kill the second Salarian with an unusual agility and speed for his size, interrogate the Turian and let him go. And when the Quarian asked for his name, he qucikly dismissed it.<p>

_It can´t be him... can he?_

It could be. The man had the most impressive agility ever seen in a Human, and he was sure he could recognize the SMG, mainly because of the blade. And that´s not talking about the armor: the armor itself told Shepard that the man was very muscular, and it had human skulls painted in the shoulder pads, the helmet and the chest. And the voice seemed familiar.

_With that equipment, it´s gotta be him. However, seven years have passed, so who knows?_

However, he didn´t say anything about it and went with his squad to the Embassies. He also noticed that the man also followed the squad.

Once we arrived at the human embassy, we were greeted by the sight of Ambassador Udina, or the Biggest Jerk of the Galaxy, as I liked to call him, looking at the Presidium, and surprisingly, Captain David Anderson. The Ambassador spoke first.

"You are not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the Wards? An all-out assault on Chora´s Den? Do you know how many... "

However, he stopped talking as soon as he saw us, more specifically, the Quarian.

"Who´s this? A Quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"

"This Quarian can help us bring down Saren. I would´ve told you that if you hadn´t jumped down my throat." Shepard replied.

"I apologize, Commander. This whole thing with Saren has me a bit on edge." The Ambassador turned to the Quarian. "Maybe we should just start at the beginning, Miss... ?"

"My name is Tali. Tali´Zorah nar Rayya." the Quarian spoke.

"We don´t see many Quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?"

The Quarian, Tali, continued. "I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood."

When she mentioned Pilgrimage, I was confused, and I wasn´t the only one. Everyone else had the same confused look. Eventually Shepard broke the silence. "I´ve never heard of this before."

"It is a tradition among my people. When we reach maturity, we leave the ships of our parents and our people behind." explained Tali. "Alone we search the stars, only returning to the flotilla once we have discovered something of value. In this way, we prove ourselves worthy of adulthood."

Right now, I couldn´t help but ask, "Something of value? Like what, exactly?"

"It could be resources like food or fuel." Tali explained. "Or some type of useful technology. Or even knowledge that will make life easier on the flotilla. Through our Pilgrimage, we prove that we will contribute to the community, rather than being a burden on our limited resources."

Shepard decided to progress the conversation. "Tell us what you found."

"During my travels I began hearing reports of Geth." Tali said. "Since they drove my people into exile, the Geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of Geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core."

Captain Anderson spoke for the first time since we arrived. "I thought the Geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some sort of defense mechanism."

"How did you manage to preserve the memory core?" Shepard asked.

"My people created the Geth. If you´re quick, careful, and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved." Tali mentioned as her omni-tool flared to life. "Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks." With this, she tapped a few commands in her omni-tool, and a Turian voice filled the air:

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit!" boomed the voice.

"That´s Saren´s voice. This proves he was involved in the attack!" Anderson spoke.

However, I noticed that Shepard seemed curious about something. "He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit. Any idea what that means?" he asked.

"The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon. Maybe it´s some kind of Prothean technology, like a weapon." Anderson answered, but I wasn´t that sure the Conduit could be a weapon.

However, before anyone could speak further, continued Tali. "Wait... there´s more. Saren wasn´t working alone." After that, she tapped a few more commands, and the same sentence boomed through the air. But it was soon joined by a second voice, this one female. "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

"Sweet." I said sarcastically. "Now we need to fight some kind of unknown faction that is part of Saren´s plans? This is the best day of my life."

"I don´t recognize that other voice." Udina affirmed.

"I feel like I´ve heard that name before... " Shepard stated.

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago." Tali explained. "The Reapers hunted the Protheans to extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that´s what the Geth believe."

"Sounds a little far-fetched." Udina concluded.

However, I could see a look of comprehension on Shepard´s face. "The vision on Eden Prime – I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers!"

"The Geth revere the Reapers as god, the pinnacle of non-organic life." Tali continued. "And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back."

"The Council is going to love this." Udina said in an annoyed tone.

"This is a lot to handle. They might just ignore everything we tell them." Shepard affirmed.

"No matter what they might think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren´s a traitor." Anderson interrupted.

"The Captain´s right. We need to present this to the Council right away." Udina said.

I decided to step in again. "And what about the Quarian?"

She seemed annoyed at the fact that I called her `Quarian´, because she almost screamed "My name is Tali!" She turned to Shepard. "You saw me in the alley, Commander, you know what I can do. Let me come with you."

But Shepard was confused. "I thought you were on your Pilgrimage."

"The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good." Tali replied. "What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the galaxy. My Pilgrimage can wait."

_Damn. Truth be told, I can´t argue with that._

"I´ll take all the help I can get." Shepard decided, turning to me next. "As such, you two are now part of the team."

Tali seemed pleased. "Thanks. You won´t regret this."

I wasn´t happy, or sad, or pissed off at the news. "Fine by me."

"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready for the Council." Udina informed. "Take a few minutes to collect yourselves, then meet us in the Tower." With this, both he and Anderson left the office, leaving only the seven of us.

"Well, any chance we can _get your name_ now?" Shepard asked to me.

I grinned. "Since you were so patient... " I quickly took off my helmet. Shepard was... surprised, to say the least. "It wasn´t that hard to know where you were. Just find a place where shit hits the fan, and it´s ninety-nine percent guaranteed that you´re there. The remaining 1% is for when minor shit hits it." I said, always grinning. Vakarian and the woman chuckled slightly.

"William!" Shepard said with a smile, "What are you doing here?"

"After seven years off the grid, only fucking up some mercenary operations, I had to reappear somehow." I replied. "And if you ask why I didn´t reveal my name sooner, it´s because I wanted to test you. Anyone could have killed me and used my armor to fool you."

"Glad to see you´re still smarter than most people. But anyway, what were you doing here?"

"I was just talking with the bartender at the bar when he told me about Eden Prime. After that, I bought an omni-tool for myself, went to the C-Sec Academy where I met my friend Lawrence, who told me about Saren, and –"

"Hold on a minute." Vakarian interrupted. "Did you just say Lawrence?"

I rose an eyebrow to his question. "Yes, I did. Why?"

He seemed unhappy. "Lawrence usually manages to get information on _every_ single C-Sec officer´s life. Every step we take, everything we do, he somehow manages to know it all. And I don´t like it."

"Well, thanks to him I managed to know what the fuck is going on with Eden Prime and Saren." I replied, almost screaming, to him.

"Garrus, William, stop it!" Shepard ordered. "Okay, for the rest of you, this is William Santos, who helped me fend off the Batarians back at Elysium." I took the time to introduce myself to the rest of Shepard´s team. The other two humans that followed Shepard were also Alliance. The man in black Onyx armor was Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was stationed on the Normandy, like Shepard. The woman was Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, one of the survivors of Eden Prime, if not the only one. The Krogan was Urdnot Wrex, who was hired by the Shadow Broker to kill Fist, the same Fist who sent Vetar and his now dead Salarian buddies to kill Tali, and failed. Thanks to both the evidence and Lawrence, I already knew who Tali and Vakarian, or rather, Garrus were.

After the introduction, Shepard quickly told us we needed to go to the Tower, and we headed up to the elevator which would take us there.

Unfortunately, the elevator was as slow as all hell. The music didn´t lighten me up in any way. Once we arrived at the Tower, we saw Captain Anderson.

"Come on. Udina´s presenting the Quarian´s evidence to the Council." he said as he took us to the Council itself.

Truth be told, the aspect of the Tower´s interior made me say, "This is amazing!" As a reply to my statement, Tali said, "We´ve tried to create organic enviroments back on the flotilla. But we lack the space for anything as grand as this."

"Very true. How many people do you think have seen this?" I asked.

"Not too many people get free access to the Tower." Garrus explained. "Even less get permission to meet the Council."

"Then I guess we are lucky." Kaidan replied. "I mean, about being able to enter the Tower. I didn´t like the Council very much."

"Heh, that´s true. " Wrex said.

"I went dark for seven years, so I never got in the hang of news. Anyway, is the Council still the same bunch of brickheads?" I asked.

"Actually, they´re even worse now." Ashley replied.

"Damn. I had to return in a bad time." I joked.

Anyway, we had already arrived. We heard Saren´s voice again, and the other woman´s sentence about the Reapers.

After it ended, Udina pointed at the Council and said, "You wanted proof. There it is."

"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador." the Turian Councilor, Valern, replied. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

"I recognize the other voice, the one speaking with Saren." Tevos, the Asari Councilor, affirmed. "Matriarch Benezia."

"Who´s she?" Shepard asked.

"Matriarchs are powerful Asari who have entered the final stage of their lives." Tevos explained. "Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

"I´m more interested in the Reapers" the Salarian Councilor said. "What do you know about them?"

"Only what was extracted from the Geth´s memory core." Anderson explained. "The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished."

"The Geth believe the Reapers are gods." Shepard continued. "And Saren´s the prophet for their return."

"We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back." Anderson concluded. "Saren´s searching for it. That´s why he attacked Eden Prime."

"Do we even know what the Conduit is?" the Salarian Councilor asked.

"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers. That´s bad enough." Shepard replied.

Valern didn´t look too friendly. "Listen to what you´re saying! Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible! It has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we´ve found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we´d have found something!"

Valern´s words were enough to make me teach him a few things. "The Reapers are _hyper-advanced_. I wouldn´t be too surprised if they lived aboard ships like the Quarians do. And if they _did_ leave proof of their existence behind, you must probably be confusing it with some other race´s artifacts! The Prothean pyramids on Tuntau, Binthu and Chasca could be proof of the Reapers´ existence, as well as Zada Ban´s goddamn mining facility!" I screamed.

"I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth." Shepard said to back up my theory. "Don´t make the same mistake again."

"This is different." Tevos countered. "You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he´s using the Geth to search for the Conduit, but we don´t really know why."

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander." the Salarian Councilor affirmed. "A convenient lie to cover Saren´s true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the Geth to his will."

"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again!" Shepard affirmed.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life." Valern said. "He no longer has the resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position."

"That is not good enough!" Udina screamed. "You know he´s hiding somewhere in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!"

"A fleet cannot track down one man." the Salarian Councilor replied.

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region." Udina explained. "Keep the Geth from attacking any more of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems!" Valern almost screamed. "We won´t be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies!"

"Every time humanity asks for help you ignore us?" Shepard asked the Council in an unfriendly way.

"Shepard´s right." Udina agreed. "I´m sick of this Council and its anti-human bull—"

"Ambassador!" Tevos interrupted. "There is another solution. A way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies."

"No! It´s too soon." Valern replied. "Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

"It was a Turian Spectre who betrayed this Council!" Shepard pointed out. "And it was a human who exposed him. I´ve earned this."

With this, both Tevos and the Salarian Councilor looked at Valern. In my opinion, it was a way of saying `take that, now you have no choice!´ to him. Eventually he conceded and nodded .

"Commander Shepard." Tevos called. "Step forward."

With this, both Shepard and Anderson looked at each other. I could notice a smile on Anderson´s face as he nodded to Shepard to step forward.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel." Tevos said.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen." the Salarian Councilor affirmed. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol." Tevos continued. "The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right-hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden." Valern concluded. "They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander." Tevos affirmed. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Shepard bowed to the Council. "I´m honored, Councilor."

"We´re sending you into the Traverse after Saren." The Salarian Councilor explained. "He´s a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

"Any idea where to find him?" Shepard asked.

"We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Udina." Valern replied.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned."Tevos concluded.

After this, Shepard turned to Anderson, who shook his hand. "Congratulations, Commander." I also gave him a nod.

"We´ve got a lot of work to do, Shepard." Udina said. "You´re going to need a ship, a crew, supplies... "

"You´ll get access to special equipment and training now." Anderson explained. "You should go down to the C-Sec Academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer."

"Anderson, come with me." Udina asked. " I´ll need your help to set all this up." After this, both he and Anderson left the Tower.

"I thought the Ambassador would be a little more grateful." Tali affirmed. "He didn´t even thank you."

"That´s because he´s an ass." I replied.

"What do you expect from a politician?" Shepard asked. "Come on."

We headed immediatly for the Docking Bay, where the new Alliance ship, the Normandy, awaited. As Shepard told me, the ship was a combination of human and Turian technology. We also saw Udina and Anderson talking. As soon as we approached, Udina spoke to us.

"I´ve got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

"She´s quick and quiet and you know the crew." Anderson continued. "Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander."

However, I felt something was wrong, and Shepard must´ve felt it too. "This isn´t right! The Normandy belongs to you!"

"You needed your own ship." Anderson explained. "A Spectre can´t answer to anyone but the Council. And It´s time for me to step down."

"Come clean with me, Captain." Shepard asked. "You owe me that much."

"I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard." Anderson admitted. "They were considering me for the Spectres."

"Why didn´t you ever mention this?" Shepard asked.

"What was I supposed to say?" Anderson replied, an angry look on his face. "`I could have been a Spectre but I blew it´? I failed, Commander. It´s not something I´m proud of. Ask me later and I´ll tell you the whole story. For now, all you need to know is I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me. I had my shot. It came and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes."

"Saren´s not going to get away this time." Shepard said.

"Saren´s gone." Anderson affirmed. "Don´t even try to find him. But we know what he´s after, the Conduit. He´s got his Geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues."

"We had reports of Geth in the Theseus system shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact." Udina explained. "And there have been sightings around Noveria."

"Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria." Anderson continued. "Maybe you can find out where the Conduit is before he does."

"The Reapers are the real threat." Shepard reminded.

"I´m with the Council on this one, Shepard." Udina countered. "I´m not sure they even exist."

"But if they do exist, the Conduit´s the key to bringing them back." Anderson replied. "Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the Reapers from returning."

"I´ll stop him." Shepard affirmed.

"We have one more lead." Udina added. "Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on that recording? She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans. We don´t know if she´s involved but it might be a good idea to try and find her. See what she knows. Her name´s Liara. Dr. Liara T´Soni. We have reports she was exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster."

"Sound like we should head there first." Shepard concluded.

"It´s your decision, Commander." Anderson said. "You´re a Spectre now. You don´t answer to us."

"But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole." Udina continued. "You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

"I´ll take care of Saren, you take care of the political fallout."

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for, Shepard." Udina admitted. "Remember, you were a human long before you were a Spectre. I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have."

With this, he left the Bay, leaving us and Anderson. Shepard turned to him. "How are you holding up?"

"Honestly?" Anderson replied. "This isn´t how I pictured my career coming to an end. Pushing papers really isn´t my thing. But you´re the one who can stop Saren. I believe in you, Shepard. If that means I have to step aside, so be it."

"I´ll see you later, Anderson."

"Very well. Next time you come here, I´ll be in the Ambassdor´s office."

With this, we left Anderson and entered the Normandy.

* * *

><p><em>Author´s Notes: Sorry if you felt that some parts didn´t make any sense. This is my first ever try at a fanfic.<em>

_About the weapons: The Nightfall AR is based on the FR-27 SFR Combat rifle from Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Brimstone Shotgun is based on the LS-13 Shotgun from Killzone, the Swordfish SR is based on an early model of the Longsword 202 ERASER Sniper rifle, that is also from DX: HR, and the Assassin is based on the Hurricane TMP-18, again from DX: HR, with a 20-centimeter blade at the back._

_The Skullwork Armor is like an extremely dark green version of the Mark VI MJOLNIR from Halo, but with the same helmet the Blue Suns and Eclipse wear, and obviously with skulls painted in the helmet, the shoulder pads, and the chest._

_I also included a very minor reference to Mass Effect 3: Into the Unknown, by Fainmaca. If you think you discovered it, post it in a review._


	3. Interlude 1

_Author's Notes: For my (Super-few) followers, sorry for the long delay!_

_And Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Interlude 1<p>

As soon as we entered the Normandy - after a decontamination - I was immediatly greeted by a different sight: from what I knew about Alliance starships, the CO´s station was usually in the middle of the CIC, but now it was located at the back. Probably Turian design. I went down the stairs to the quarters and took the elevator. I was followed by Garrus, Tali, Wrex and Ashley. Once we arrived at the Cargo Bay, Tali immediatly walked towards Engineering.

Wrex simply stood next to some crates, while Garrus went to check in on the Mako and Ashley went to some lockers to clean up the weapons inside them. I took the time to take off my armor.

"Nice weapons you got there." Wrex pointed out. He was looking at the Nightfall, my Assault Rifle, and the Swordfish, my Sniper Rifle. "Where did you get them?"

"Made´em myself. You wouldn´t find´em anywhere else even if you prayed to God." I said. "And I remember every single life taken by those."

"Heh. How many?"

"About 12.345.921."

"Damn." Ashley replied.

"Some by bullets, some by shoving´em into some faces, others even by looking."

"You´re joking, right?" Garrus asked.

"No. After seeing´em, they commited suicide."

"What?"

"Exactly. You know, I´ve got a reputation against the Blue Suns and Eclipse. A _terrifying_ one. Because, you know, there was this job I took in 2180, where I had to `clean up´ a Binary Helix research facility at Jerojun, that has been attacked by Eclipse mercs." Eclipse was a mercenary organization that included powerful biotics and intelligent tech experts. "I jumped off the shuttle and gunned down many mercs as I was nearing ground. That´s how I earned the name `Skyhigh Skull´. Once I hit the ground, I quickly approached the facility and took out about 34 mercs with the Nightfall. Then I approached the remaining 20, and... " I told them, leaving the last part for them to guess.

"And?" Ashley asked.

"Let´s just say that the biggest blood rain I ever saw in my life happened that day."

"Wow." Garrus was impressed by what I called `Winter Bloodshed´.

"Indeed." I said as I remembered the incident on that icy planet.

"What was the last job you took?" Wrex asked.

"This one." Was my simple reply.

However, we were quickly interrupted by Shepard´s voice blaring through the speakers. And he gave one big speech.

"Wow." I said after he finished. "How in the name of Hell... does he keep a politician as a pet? `Cause it definitely looks like it." This earned me a chuckle from Ashley.

"I don't know, but that would certainly be lying to us." She replied.

"What?"

"He hates politics and politicians alike."

"He certainly does know what to hate then." I joked as I headed for the elevator. As soon as I exited the elevator, I found none other than Shepard.

"William."

"Hey, Shepard. How you doin´?" I asked.

"Good. Just told Joker to head for the Hawking Eta. I discovered that a biotic cult is making its own life on Presrop."

"Presrop... that ain't Klendagon´s moon, is it?"

"Yes." Shepard replied as we headed to the Mess Hall. "Admiral Hackett also contacted me about something related to a Dr. Wayne on Ontarom and a lost Alliance booby trap that crashlanded on Agebinium. Before we search for Dr. T'Soni, we take care of these three incidents."

"Gotcha. I hope we make it out alive." I joked. "Because, you know, when the two of us faced that Batarian horde at Elysium, I didn't think we'd make it out alive. I thanked my Lucky Scar."

Shepard understood what I meant when I said Lucky Scar. The damned scar began in my forehead, raced along my face, and ended right at my lower jaw. Them damned Thresher Maws...

"You never actually told me how you obtained that scar." Shepard inquired.

"Two words: Thresher Maw." My reply made Shepard´s eyes almost pop out. "Yeah, yeah, I know: what the fucking fuck? It was on a mission I took at Reravulis, to take down a Salarian crimelord, Pessok Rimn. I worked with a Turian, Tonn Actus, and someone called... hell, I don't remember the name, but I think his surname was Massani... well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, we took out Rimn's forces, hell, we were almost right behind him, then... BOOM! The entire outpost shakes, and the Thresher pops outta the ground, instantly killing Rimn. Since he was dead, we tried to run, but the Maw caught up to us and there goes its claw, piercing my face."

"Shit... " Shepard had his mouth wide open. "And to think Elysium was hell—"

"Commander, we're approaching Presrop's surface." The pilot's voice chimed in.

"You heard him. Tell Wrex and Garrus to gear up. I'll warn Kaidan." Shepard ordered.

With that, I could only obey Shepard...

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, it was short, but every Interlude chapter during the course of ME1 is going to be short.<em>

_Anyway, I'd like to inform you that I'm planning to label some chapters as "William's missions." You know, telling how Billy's missions as a merc were._

_Stay tuned!_


End file.
